Lucid, elegant, full of surprising and illuminating details, it can be warmly recommended to anyone with an interest in modern European history. If his account of Habsburg achievements, especially in the 18th century, is rather starry-eyed, it is a welcome corrective to the black legend usually presented. Purdue, Times Higher Education 'Judson's reflections on nations, states and institutions are of broader interest, not least in the current debate on the future of the European Union after Brexit.' -Annabelle Chapman, Prospect Judson does much to destroy the picture of an ossified regime and state.' -A. Judson argues that.the empire was a force for progress and modernity. Judson rejects conventional depictions of the Habsburg empire as a hopelessly dysfunctional assemblage of squabbling nationalities and stresses its achievements in law, administration, science and the arts.' -Tony Barber, Financial Times 'Spectacularly revisionist. Lucid, elegant, full of surprising and illuminating details, it can be warmly recommended to anyone with an interest in modern European history.' -Tim Blanning, Wall Street Journal 'This is an engaging reappraisal of the empire whose legacy, a century after its collapse in 1918, still resonates across the nation-states that replaced it in central Europe.

A EuropeNow Editor's Pick A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year 'Pieter M.

Pieter judson the habsburg empire